


Only one

by Serinah



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Only One Bed, friends from teens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29106960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serinah/pseuds/Serinah
Summary: Friends. Pining. And only one bed.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 16
Kudos: 150
Collections: All and More (18+) Kaysanova Gift Bag 2020





	Only one

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [fonulyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn) in the [All_and_More_Gift_Bag_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/All_and_More_Gift_Bag_2020) collection. 



> Hey, fonulyn - this is none of your prompts, but your tags fit, so I hope you'll like it! <3
> 
> Hyper-fixate, my beta and brain-trust! THANK YOU! <3
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> 1) fonulyn over on discord too
> 
> 2) short prompts  
> \- accidentally confessing feelings  
> \- finishing each other's sentences/stories  
> \- sleepy morning sex
> 
> 3) long prompts  
> \- a getting together fic in the soulmate au where it’s impossible to lie to your soulmate  
> \- laughing during sex, things go wrong or something unintentionally hilarious happens, but it in no way ruins the mood  
> \- (this is both super vague and oddly specific and i apologize but) something where they are barely together, and since it's all so new some little misunderstanding blows way out of proportion, cue breaking up and shattered hearts, before Andy/Nile/someone-else-who-is-awesome kicks some sense into them and they get their happy reunion
> 
> 4) A list of your DO NOT WANTS  
> \- major character death (of the permanent kind), scat/watersports/the like, bdsm, mpreg, a/b/o, cheating, non-con, bloodplay, degrading language (like, during sex, of each other), angst without a happy ending, werewolf/vampire aus

Cazzo!

Nicky stopped in the doorway, and stared, an unpleasant feeling of apprehension uncurling itself in his stomach.

"Joe, I think there's been a mistake," he says quietly when his friend catches up to him. "See?" He gestures into the room. "There's only one bed."

"Huh," Joe replies and stares too.

The unpleasant feeling intensifies into a mildly calm rattlesnake, and Nicky has to pull in a deep, deep lungful of air through his nose and let it out slowly, silently, so as to not reveal how anxious he actually was about the situation.

"Well, at least it's a king-size," Joe says cheerfully, nudging him further into the room.

Well, of course he would. Joe’s not the one who has been desperately in love with his best friend since they were both sixteen, and now finally has the chance to act out his deepest hidden fantasy where they would accidentally be forced to share a bed and where he'd sleepily put his arm around his friend and his friend would turn around and just kiss him, and... more would happen.

Nicky wasn't sixteen anymore to believe in miracles, nor was he naive (and perhaps bold) enough to try his luck with just telling Joe how he felt. That ship has sailed. If ever there was a time when Nicky had a chance, that chance is long gone.

"You gonna unpack?" Joe asks as if there’s nothing strange with sharing a bed with his best friend. "It's only for one night, surely we can share?" He stares at Nicky's (undoubtedly) unhappy face. "Or were you going out to pull?" he finishes uncertainly. "We can try to switch…?"

"Oh no," Nicky shook himself out of the funk. "I had no such plans. It's just weird but…" he shrugs as if he couldn't care less. "It's just one night, right?"

He tries smiling at his friend but it sits wrong on his face and he drops it. The rattlesnake hisses.

They go to dinner, then watch a film. Joe is lounging comfortably on the bed while Nicky strategically chooses the armchair. Its cushioning is more fashion than fluff, and the back is just the wrong angle for Nicky, but stubbornly, he perseveres.

When the time comes, Joe is fast as a dart, in and out of the bathroom, but Nicky can't. He takes a shower, sits on the toilet seat, brushes his teeth for almost five minutes, and hopes that Joe falls asleep before he finishes.

Joe is a night owl. Nicky knows that.

Shit.

Nicky leans his palms on the counter, lowers his head, and with his eyes closed, counts his breaths.

"Did you drown?" Joe yells, and Nicky startles.

"Yes. Go to sleep or I'm gonna haunt you."

For a reason known only to one Joe al-Kaysani (and maybe even not him), Nicky hears a chuckle. Sighing, Nicky gives up and finally exits the bathroom.

God, life is a cruel mistress; Joe is still lounging on the covers just as before, but this time he's only wearing nothing but boxers, holding a book and there are narrow reading glasses perched on his nose.

"I usually sleep naked," Joe says. "I hope you don't mind."

Nicky stumbles on the stupidly thick carpet.

"I mind any naked," he mumbles, but Joe seems to have heard him.

"Don't worry, I only strip for the second date," he jokes.

"Ha-ha."

Slowly, reluctantly, Nicky walks around the bed to get to the empty side.

"I'm sorry, Nicky. Unthinkingly, I already occupied the left side. Do you want to switch?"

He even starts getting up but Nicky waves him away.

"This is fine," he says, sounding pissed.

 _God, why do I sound so angry?_ Nicky wants to hit himself over the head, but that would be silly, so he just scowls.

"No-no," Joe says, getting up. "I can see you are annoyed, we can switch, I don't care—"

"No, I'm fine, you don't have to—"

"No, we can, this is probably all my fault anyway, since I joined you on such short notice—"

"No, really, Joe—"

"—and the hotel had to change your room since they were booked otherwise—"

"—it's fine, I can—"

Joe sits up on the bed, grabs Nicky's arm, and drags him over himself as if acrobatics on the bed is the new, exciting sport he's trying out. Nicky resists and Joe's laughing, and then Nicky lets himself be outmaneuvered and pulled over to the other side.

Despite himself, he's grinning and now they are looking each other in the eyes, breathless and happy.

"You… are crazy," Nicky manages to get out. "Why do you…?" He shakes his head.

"I don't know, habibi, why wouldn't I? You're my bro and I love you."

And just like that, the fun is over. Nicky grimaces and turns away. He sees Joe's frozen, appalled face before he turns away, but neither of them says anything. Even if Joe thinks he's deeply homophobic or something, Nicky knows that this is what he thinks but until they've talked he won't… and Nicky can't talk about it, won't talk about it, because it _hurts_. It hurts so bad he's going to cry while in the said bed with his wonderfully naked best friend…

Hastily, Nicky gets up and walks towards the bathroom—

“Yeah, fine, walk away again,” Joe calls after him bitterly. “Don’t deal with it, _never_ deal with it!”

His words sound so angry and bitter that Nicky stops with his fingers on the handle.

“What?” he asks, sounding shocked and wet.

There’s a short pause.

“Habibi?”

Now Joe sounds shocked too and there are fast steps behind Nicky. When he can feel Joe’s body heat almost at his back, he knows, he _knows,_ that Joe’s hand is hovering over his shoulder, and Nicky feels the snake in him still, tightly coiled as he hears Joe’s timid voice ask, “Nicky? What’s happening?”

Nicky’s tears spill over and his shoulders jerk in an aborted sob. He shakes his head.

“I’m sorry,” Joe says hastily. “I’m so sorry, my friend, my heart — but I don't understand, what is going on? You’re not angry?”

Nicky gives out half a startled sob-chuckle. “No,” he replies, sounding snotty. Pulls in another shaky breath and drops his shoulders.

Joe finally clasps his shoulder and squeezes it for comfort. Nicky exhales and leans back into Joe’s comforting warmth. They’ve never done anything like that before and it’s unnerving. Especially since for a short second Joe’s body goes rigid, but then it softens and embraces him and both of his hands come around Nicky’s waist and hug him.

Nicky should resist but he's so, so tired, and so he slumps back and lets the sob fight itself out of his chest. And another, and another, until it’s all his doing and Joe turns them and presses Nicky’s head into his shoulder and lets him cry on his chest like a small boy. The rattlesnake he’s carried with him since that night under Kabul dissolves as if it’s never been there, and he melts into Joe’s embrace. It feels good. 

They relocate back to bed and Joe rocks and shushes him like a child, and despite feeling sad and done, Nicky smiles when he pulls away.

“Okay, that’s enough,” he says, his voice scratchy.

“Feeling better?” Joe asks, handing him another tissue for blowing his nose.

Nicky can’t look at Joe, but he’s not embarrassed, not really.

“Yes. Thank you.” He can feel Joe’s concerned gaze on him, and sighs. “I’m sorry I lost it like that, I’m okay now.”

“Do you want to talk about it? I mean, I am sorry, too, or rather, I don’t think you have to apologize at all, I just…”

He moves directly in front of Nicky’s face to catch his eye, and involuntarily, Nicky’s lips pull up in a relieved smile.

“Ah.” He loses the smile and scoots backwards on the pillows needing some distance between him and his friend. “That is a long story which can be told in one sentence: I love you.”

Joe’s lips twitch but stretch onto a tender smile immediately.

“I… I don’t think you’ve ever said it before,” he says softly, his whole face warm and welcoming. “I knew you did, of course, but it’s good to hear it. Thank you, friend.”

“No, Joe, you don’t understand.”

Joe frowns.

“I mean, ‘I love you’ as in ‘I‘m in love with you’.” He glances at Joe’s startled face and slides down the bed a little, to see the ceiling better. Feeling resigned, but somehow at peace, he continues, “I’ve been in love with you since we were sixteen and you thanked me for helping you with that Dennis guy. God he was terrible.”

“Nicky…” Joe’s voice sounds strange and Nicky ploughs on without letting Joe say anything.

“I socked him good. He’d been picking on you since forever and I _hated_ that guy.”

“And that was the day you realized…?”

“Yeah. I was so mad that it made me realize why I was so mad. I loved you. And you had a girlfriend.”

“Explains why you hated Milla that much,” Joe sounds thoughtful, almost absent-minded.

Nicky feels a hand on his lower arm and glances at it. Joe scoots closer to be able to look Nicky in the eye, but stubbornly, Nicky returns to staring at the white expanse of the ceiling.

“But it doesn’t explain why you would cry your eyes out just now,” Joe says. “I just literally said that I loved you. Just right now, I said it.”

“ _Sei un idiota_ ,” Nicky mutters.

“Nicky, habibi, darling, sweetheart, just look at me,” Joe says. “Please.”

He is pleading and Nicky simply can't help himself — his eyes cut to his friend, only to see his loving face creased with worry.

“I love you too,” Joe says and something in his face is making Nicky’s heart double his speed.

“Yes, but you don’t mean—”

“No, Nicky.” Joe cups Nicky’s cheek into his big warm palm. “No, I mean it like you did. I always have.”

Confused, his heartbeat now tripling, Nicky sits up and grabs at Joe’s bicep.

“What? But you didn’t… you’ve always had one girlfriend after another and then the boyfriends—”

“And I was a fool not to have realized how little they meant to me compared to you! I was a fool for so, so long that by the time I did realize, you were in Afghanistan and then you had a girlfriend and then you were engaged, and I’d thought I’d lost my chance, but the first time I told you I loved you, I meant it.”

They are holding onto each other, looking in each other’s eyes, and Joe’s are moist now too, and Nicky just leans in, pressing his forehead to Joe’s and closes his eyes.

“I remember the first time. I was just back from the week-long mission,” he whispers, images flashing before his eyes, “there was sand and dirt everywhere, even in my soul, and I just wanted a shower, but not before I heard your voice. I was so desperate to hear your voice that I ignored how late it would be for you, but you still picked up—”

“I would always pick up, habibi, an unknown number, a local number, a foreign number... I was always so afraid to hear you were hurt or dead, and I was always so incredibly relieved to hear your voice...”

“You always sounded happy.”

They are silent for a while.

Then Joe tilts his head and Nicky’s lips move closer, finding Joe’s. The kiss is wet and salty and they have to adjust the angle, but then it's good, it’s so good that a warm happiness swells in Nicky’s chest, spreading, making him feel like he’s floating. When they break apart, they are gasping, their noses still touching and Nicky’s eyes are closed, or else he’d be too embarrassed about his goofy smile.

“It is my fault, you know,” Joe rasps. “The bed situation… I called them to ask for the king-sized.”

Nicky’s eyes blinked open and he pulled away to stare at Joe, surprised.

“I’m sorry,” Joe says sheepishly, “but I was desperate.”

Snorting with quiet laughter, Nicky slipped his fingers into Joe’s hair and pulled him into another kiss.

Sometimes a sixteen-year-old’s fantasies do come true.


End file.
